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by kulahan 978 days ago
We've got companies actively removing usability from their products in order to chase fads - check out Youtube Shorts and how they don't have stuff like manual tracking or volume control at all.

Maybe your argument has some merit to it, but based on where we are, I don't think it needs to be worried about too much.
2 comments
TeMPOraL 978 days ago
Companies don't remove usability just to chase fads. They do it to exploit users.

The lack of manual tracking on YouTube shorts, or (much earlier) Instagram reels? That's not a fad, that's a "feature" - it's meant to change the way you interact with and experience the content, forcing you into a paradigm that's optimal for the vendor.

Same with other usability and accessibility features of yore - the ones that disappear first are the ones giving users flexibility and control, because the point is to funnel users into specific, optimized workflows that are most profitable for the vendor.

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kulahan 977 days ago
The REASON they're chasing the fad is to change how you interact with the content in a way that's positive for them.
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spencerchubb 978 days ago
What do you mean by manual tracking? And how is there no volume control? Can't you just change the volume on your device?
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lolinder 978 days ago
> Can't you just change the volume on your device?

And this is the problem with YouTube shorts—they've been designed exclusively for the mobile experience without any consideration for desktop.

On desktop it's always been customary to allow adjusting the volume on each piece of media individually, because multitasking is not uncommon. Some people will want to be able to adjust the volume of YouTube independently from the volume of the video game they're playing at the same time. Or even just turn the volume down while still having full volume alerts from Slack.

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spencerchubb 978 days ago
I don't see it as a problem to make a mobile-first experience. A volume setting takes up screen real estate and is really not needed on mobile.

Perhaps it will be added to desktop Shorts as the product matures.

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lolinder 978 days ago
> A volume setting takes up screen real estate and is really not needed on mobile.

This is a solved problem: don't show the volume control on mobile. This is what YouTube already does for every other kind of video.

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spencerchubb 978 days ago
I agree, and that's what I just said. YouTube Shorts has not existed very long, but it could very well be on the roadmap to add a volume control to the desktop version.
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